industry. and britain's right to be. -- bride to be. hello. in libya, there are strong signs the 41-year rule of muammar qaddafi will be ending. oppression has spread to the capital, tripoli. there are widespread reports of killings and of jet fighters attacking protestors, who set a police station on fire. one area seems to be largely under opposition control. there is word that muammar qaddafi has left the area, possibly even the country. he has been accused of genocide. for her own safety, we cannot reveal their names. she sent to this.

>> the saenz would have been unthinkable one week ago are being secretly recorded and smuggled on to the internet. apparently, dissent without mercy. this is the most serious challenge he has ever faced. army units may be wavering. and pundits have been ordered to bomb protesters at. one has requested political asylum. libyans are finding their voice, even if they are too afraid to be identified. >> my friend is 20 years old, and she has only been a bride less than 1 months, and her husband, he got shot.

also, a young boy, four bullets. we do not know what to do. >> earhart -- there are signs of strength. >> we will agree on a new libya, a true libya. either this, or, libyans, be ready for separatism and civil war. forget these resources. get ready for trouble. >> some have been on the streets, waving the green flag. and the regime that has ruled with an iron fist is looking brittle. some have sided with the opposition.

and parts of the country now appear to be in the hands of protesters. his rise to power began where it could end. tonight, the justice power is allegedly resigned. state tv is morning security forces -- warning of security forces. >> a correspondent in tripoli. there is talk that colonel qaddafi's faith will be reachingfate -- fate will be soon decided. >> his ascent to power was the

result of a bloodless army to. there are people from his own tribe -- a bloodless army coup. it is a very volatile situation. two situations are considered it important. >> one man is important because he has been prominent in the military command of eastern libya ever since 1969 in one way or another, and another of the key figures has been a more prominent, if you like, political figure. he has also taken the side of the rebellion. >> there are multiple eyewitnesses who are saying and mercenaries are being employed by muammar qaddafi. if this is true, they have

second thoughts about the regime, and i do not expect the libyan army to be different from the tunisian army or the egyptian army the basically forced mubarak and ben ali out. >> he may be spreading himself by those who want to stand by him, especially as things worsen. >> i think he needs to go back to a tribal center to organize an effective force that is then going to come back and demonstrate to the populations of tripoli where the power really lies. >> in libya, the tribal battle for influence is important. in the second biggest city where the protests started, it is home of a rival tribe. maneuvering his way around the

klan based politics for so long, he now looks to be facing his greatest test -- around the clan-based politics. >> frankly at the moment, there are so many unprecedented things happening, you could forget this. the entire mission in new york says they have broken their regime. i spoke now to a bbc reporter. >> i have been asking whether there it has been a precedent for a mission to come out and say, "we are not serving our government anymore. we are serving our people." in this case, it involves colonel muammar qaddafi. it was led by the deputy in bass sitter, the ambassador himself. -- the deputy ambassador. they say the accused him of bringing in mercer raised --

mercenaries. they were clearly very shaken by the reports they were getting from libya. >> the information we're receiving from the people in tripoli, the regime is killing. they just kill them. >> the deputy ambassador also made an appeal to the international community for help. specifically, he asked the u.n. security council to exercise its right to protect libyan civilians, its right to intervene in the situation to try to protect the people there. he did say that request has not been officially made yet. he was bringing it to the press first, but if that request goes through, it will be interesting

to see how the security council responds. this is what he had to say specifically about what he wanted. >> we want to the ability to do several slayings. the first thing is to impose a no-fly zone of all of the cities -- we want the ability to do several things. the second thing is to establish safe passage from the borders of tunisia and egypt so the medical supplies will arrive to tripoli and other cities. >> what is not at all clear is what the security council or the u.n. as a whole actually can do about this. >> mike, in actual fact, they do, in theory, have the power to do quite a lot. they can do sanctions, imposed a no-fly zone, intervene militarily if they want to.

-- impose a no-fly zone. to do this in the case of domestic repression is, i think, very, very unlikely. so far, the security council actually has not said anything about the uprising in the arab world. there are some who say these are internal domestic situations. they do not cross the borders or constitute an international threat to peace and security, which is what the security council concerns itself with. we will have to see how they respond. >> barbara there at the u.n. for us. the most senior libyan diplomat in the u.s. resigned from the government. he explained to the bbc why he did it. >> i was watching very carefully what happened in libya, but when i see these

people being killed every day, and i see their heavy machine guns, the people wanted to express their rights, and the way the government is handling this, it is not a right to me. i believe i am a wiseman, -- a wise man, but this government is killing its people. >> the president of yemen rejected demands that he step down. widespread demonstrations now in their 10th day. he calls them "unacceptable acts of provocation." moroccan authorities have said five burned bodies have been found where there were demonstrations on sunday. around 2000 people took to the

streets in several cities. they want him to give up some of his powers and clampdown on corruption. the formula one grand prix schedule for bahrain has been called off because of protests there. it was to start on march 13. it is now likely to get underway on march 27 with the australian grand prix in sydney. good to have you with us on "bbc world news." stay with us if you can. nasa wants to unlock the secrets of the closest planet to the sun. first though, a senior officer from britain's mi5 says tasers you may regret failing to prevent the events of 7/7 -- says he's seriously regrets. >> the security service mi5, the

people who work here are told their identities will always remain secret, so when a senior mi5 officer king to give testimony, it was behind koran -- closed doors. the court was told they had no inkling about what was to befall on 7/7. there was the profound regret it was not able to prevent the bombing. he was questioned about what was known about the bombing leader before 2005, mohammed sidique. in 2005, he was seen on a camping trip with others, including known extremists. later, the same were seen in getting into his car. this information was not passed to mi5, the correct response at the time, said witness g.

his later partner, shezhad tanweer, was shown with him. a picture of the two was crops like this and send to the united states, where it was shown to a terrorist to it turned into an informant -- was cropped like this and send to the united states. -- sent. for some of the families, this is the evidence they've been waiting for. witness g will continue his testimony in the morning. >> let's give you the headlines on the bbc this hour. there are thoughts that muammar qaddafi has fled the country as unrest reaches the capital of tripoli. protests at embassies around the world, and some of the embassies are defecting.

the people haute -- the unrest in libya has helped to push oil prices to its highest level since 2008. at one point, $105 per barrel for one indicator. more of the main news. the last soviet leader mikhail gorbachev described russia as an imitation democracy. he criticized vladimir putin and president dmitry medvedev about deciding among them who should run for the presidency next year. the former president is widely thought to want the job again. jacob zuma and other leaders are in the ivory coast, but looking at trying to convince the previous leader to step down

after the disputed elections in the fall. an orbiting around mercury. scientists are keen to learn more about mercury. it is the smallest planets in the solar system and also the closest to the sun. we have this report. >> two, one, and zero, and lift- off. >> in 2004, they went to explore mercury. it is visiting a world that is closer to the sun than any other, temperatures rising to a blistering 400 degrees centigrade. part of the challenge has been to build a space craft that will not melt when it reaches its destination. >> we had to design a thermal protection system, and we came up with this sunshade which is

very thin, almost wafer thin, and it keeps the temperatures on the outside the spacecraft about 600 degrees but inside about room temperature. >> in washington, they're working on the final command codes to slow it down. if they get it wrong, the probe will either crashed into the planet or spin off into outer space. there is some tension here because they're making final preparations. it is the first time that it will be for so close for so long around the planet mercury. >> it will fire its retrorockets and be in orbit, and then it will begin to build up a detailed picture of the planet. already, the spacecraft has sent back these photographs, which shows its complex service in great detail. >> what you can learn when you are in orbit is much more than

you learn when you're flying by in gathering data as you go. this is really going to revolutionize what we know about the planet. >> by studying mercury, researchers hope they will gain insights on our planet and how other things were formed. bbc news, washington. >> cuban cinema has won awards for its art house movies, but the industry has fallen on hard times, in the state can no longer afford to fund such projects. now, a new group of film makers are raising money from abroad. there is a new movie that is a social satire that pokes fun at the system. >> a box of severed heads lies on the street, and all around, flesh eating zombies are intent on taking over havana, but the government is slow to react, believing this is dissidents

provoked by the united states, a temporary. it is directed by a 34-year-old. he is one of a new generation of cuban film makers trying to break out of the confines of the island state run film industry. >> it is a zombie film, but it is really about cuban's and how we react in front of problems. a social comedy. it has a bit of everything. it has action. what we're trying to do is have fun. >> mama, papa, in casa! >> there is money to be made, eliminating the zombies. if your loved ones have become

possessed, call this number, and for a small fee, we will take care of it, says the film's trailer. at the international film festival attracts huge audiences. the island has a long and distinguished history in filmmaking, but it has fallen on hard times. the government can no longer fund the industry, and the american industry is dominating. a steady stream of funds. to find a wider audience abroad, even in the spanish-speaking world. fidel castro was well aware of the power of cinema, and shortly after the revolution, he created the cuban film institute. it was never a simple propaganda mouthpiece, producing instead a

series of classics. this 1968 maybe conjured up the uncertain mood in havana after the revolution. in "strawberries and chocolate, a young communist, at a time when homosexuality was illegal in cuba. today, this caribbean island boasts an international film school whose three-year course draws students from around the world. it also attracts the occasional hollywood director, like john landis, who was giving a master class to students the day i was there. >> cuba has always been that avid filmgoers, and they still are. after the revolution, castro, they used to steal prints from miami, first-run movies, and movies, before they would play

l.a., they would play havana, and it would be, how did that happen? there cinema has always been interesting, and something that is kind of fun now is that they make a political films but in disguise because they have to be careful. >> the major problem for cuban directors these days is securing funding. a spanish company is covering this $2 million budget, which is needed to pay for the computerized special effects during post-production. the lead actress is from spain. the new generation of independent directors are no longer funded by the state, but they still need script approval from the authorities. today though, they are managing to expand the boundaries of cuban cinema. this movie may be poking fun at the system, but the director insists it is not a political film. what he is looking for is

commercial rather than artistic success. the first real challenge will be to find a place to launch it, the prestigious international film festivals. bbc news, havana. >> britain's royal wedding is just over two months away, and there is a new attraction on the tourist trail, kate middleton's hometown, and they are getting inquiries from as far afield as japan and the u.s., not just from the u.k.. until recently, these villages were not much used to tourists. that was b.c., before catherine.

>> she has got ties here. >> you should not be surprised of the world's media is set up, as well. some seem taken aback by the numbers of reporters on their couches. >> what did you think then? >> money back. >> there is never all of this paparazzi. there is a place where william and qaeda apparently have drunk. it is the closest to her parents' home. >> the appetite in america is in satiable for this story, and we will literally cover as a network every single event, regardless of how insignificant it may feel if it gives us some insight into prince william r. kate middleton. we will do it because our audience wants to know about it. >> it is the area's newfound fame.

>> the party last night. >> i actually did not think i would be filmed. >> and it is not just here in the countryside that they are expecting a tourist influx. it should be a popular year in london in winter, as well. >> you can get all of the international news including that on our website, bbc.com. all of the latest news, including looking at the difficulty of reporting from inside libya. that is bbc.com/news. the 41-year rule of muammar qaddafi may be ending. mass protests and oppression have spread. there are widespread reports of killing and a jet fighters attacking protestors who have set a major public building on fire. the second-largest city seems to

be largely under opposition control. there are claims that muammar qaddafi has left the area, maybe even the country. his own diplomats have accused him of genocide. there is much more on twitter and facebook. thanks very much for watching. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: good evening. i'm jeffrey brown. libyan security forces fired on demonstrators, leaving hundreds dead or wounded as antigovernment protests engulfed the capital, tripoli, for the first time. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we get the latest on this bloody challenge to moammar gadhafi's 42-year regime. >> brown: then, two budget stories: an update on the "week of rage" over union bargaining rights and benefits in wisconsin. >> woodruff: and we look at the political face-off here in sh